Going into high school I was used to being disappointed by my, seemingly, callous and uncaring teachers. As I walked through the doors of North Providence High School I was ready for more of the same casual disregard from the teachers of my freshman class. However, I was instantly proven mistaken about my assumptions that teachers were little more than glorified babysitters. In the first year alone I met two teachers who single-handedly changed my perception of English and History and increased my own self-confidence in the subjects, subjects that in the past I had considered some of my weakest, and helped me to obtain high marks in the honors and AP iterations of the classes later in high school. The first teacher to make a real impact on my life was Ms. Marsland an English teacher, who one fateful day of my freshman year, assigned the class to write a poem about a topic of their choosing. Uncertain and confused I came to her for help with finding a direction for my writing. After Ms. Marsland spent a considerable amount of time guiding me, I went home significantly less lost and wrote the dreaded poem. Handing the poem in the following day I felt so self-conscious about what I was sure was the worst thing ever written that I nearly claimed that I didn't complete the assignment. After summoning the necessary courage I handed in the poem that so much time had been devoted to. After a breathless day, the poem was eventually returned to me. When I took the paper I felt consumed by both dread and exhilaration, as I slowly forced my gaze towards my teacher's comments the former of the two began to consume me filling me with fear at the, I was sure, contemptuous and judging comments on the paper. To my utmost surprise my teacher had deemed the poem “A” worthy and her comments on the paper were some of the highest praise I have read on any of my assignments before or since. Her final comment recommended that I publish the poem on an amateur poetry site. Up until that point in my life I had always been incredibly self-conscious about my writing and never considered myself much better than “decent” at English. However, that one piece of encouragement helped me turn English from my weakest to one of my strongest subjects.
At that point in my life I discovered that teachers were capable of changing the course of someone’s life, at times for the worse, but generally for the better. For example, my eleventh grade Honors Chemistry teacher (who happens to be the husband of my middle school History teacher) not only did an exceptional job of teaching me about chemistry he also helped mentor me both in and out of science since then. For example, without Mr. C’s help I would have unquestionably failed my driver’s test. The day before my test I went to Mr. C to ask about the work I would be missing the following day, after mentioning that the reason I wouldn’t be attending class was because of my driving test Mr. C gave me some tips about taking the test and assured me that I would do fine. Among the things he mentioned when preparing me for the test was the three-point turn, a maneuver that my father had forgotten to teach me, and because of Mr. C I was able to practice a three-point turn before the test. Earlier last year when I was unsure of what I wanted my major to be, I came to Mr. C for guidance and he recommended that based off of my aptitudes and personality I should go into Engineering. The teachers that I had in high school helped prove to me that teachers can be more than just temporary guidance, but also lifelong mentors.
Going into high school I was used to being disappointed by my, seemingly, callous and uncaring teachers. As I walked through the doors of North Providence High School I was ready for more of the same casual disregard from the teachers of my freshman class. However, I was instantly proven mistaken about my assumptions that teachers were little more than glorified babysitters. In the first year alone I met two teachers who single-handedly changed my perception of English and History and increased my own self-confidence in the subjects, subjects that in the past I had considered some of my weakest, and helped me to obtain high marks in the honors and AP iterations of the classes later in high school. The first teacher to make a real impact on my life was Ms. Marsland an English teacher, who one fateful day of my freshman year, assigned the class to write a poem about a topic of their choosing. Uncertain and confused I came to her for help with finding a direction for my writing. After Ms. Marsland spent a considerable amount of time guiding me, I went home significantly less lost and wrote the dreaded poem. Handing the poem in the following day I felt so self-conscious about what I was sure was the worst thing ever written that I nearly claimed that I didn't complete the assignment. After summoning the necessary courage I handed in the poem that so much time had been devoted to. After a breathless day, the poem was eventually returned to me. When I took the paper I felt consumed by both dread and exhilaration, as I slowly forced my gaze towards my teacher's comments the former of the two began to consume me filling me with fear at the, I was sure, contemptuous and judging comments on the paper. To my utmost surprise my teacher had deemed the poem “A” worthy and her comments on the paper were some of the highest praise I have read on any of my assignments before or since. Her final comment recommended that I publish the poem on an amateur poetry site. Up until that point in my life I had always been incredibly self-conscious about my writing and never considered myself much better than “decent” at English. However, that one piece of encouragement helped me turn English from my weakest to one of my strongest subjects.
At that point in my life I discovered that teachers were capable of changing the course of someone’s life, at times for the worse, but generally for the better. For example, my eleventh grade Honors Chemistry teacher (who happens to be the husband of my middle school History teacher) not only did an exceptional job of teaching me about chemistry he also helped mentor me both in and out of science since then. For example, without Mr. C’s help I would have unquestionably failed my driver’s test. The day before my test I went to Mr. C to ask about the work I would be missing the following day, after mentioning that the reason I wouldn’t be attending class was because of my driving test Mr. C gave me some tips about taking the test and assured me that I would do fine. Among the things he mentioned when preparing me for the test was the three-point turn, a maneuver that my father had forgotten to teach me, and because of Mr. C I was able to practice a three-point turn before the test. Earlier last year when I was unsure of what I wanted my major to be, I came to Mr. C for guidance and he recommended that based off of my aptitudes and personality I should go into Engineering. The teachers that I had in high school helped prove to me that teachers can be more than just temporary guidance, but also lifelong mentors.